The Sinking of the USS Cairo
The Sinking of the USS Cairo

Author: John C. Wideman

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 1604736917

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Previously untold, the true story of the Union ironclad, the first man-of-war sunk in combat by a naval torpedo

U.s.s. Cairo
U.s.s. Cairo

Author: Virgil Carrington Jones

Publisher:

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 9781410224125

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For 11 years, I was closely associated with the Cairo project, and I know how difficult it is to place the undertaking in its proper perspective and to dispassionately evaluate its historical significance. I was accordingly delighted to learn that Virgil Carrington Jones, who needs no introduction to readers interested in Civil War partisan operations and action afloat, had agreed to chronicle the story of the Cairo and her rendezvous with destiny on the Yazoo in December 1862; and that Harold L. Peterson, whose publications on arms and armament are legion, would survey, describe, and evaluate the thousands of artifacts recovered. Jones and Peterson, as the readers of this booklet will discover, have written of the Cairo and her treasure trove of artifacts with keen insight and understanding. Their accounts will spark the reader's interest, and, in conjunction with the salvaged objects themselves, lead to a better understanding of how bluejackets lived and fought in our Civil War. Edwin C. Bearss Chief Historian National Park Service

The Sinking of the USS Cairo
The Sinking of the USS Cairo

Author: John C. Wideman

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2009-09-28

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1496801458

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In 1862, in one of the South's most amazing secret operations, a Confederate team, using newly invented explosive mines, blew up the USS Cairo, one of the Union's most feared ironclad gunboats. It sank within minutes. The USS Cairo is the only remaining vessel from the Union navy's river fleet. For 102 years, the ironclad rested deep in the mud of the Yazoo River. In 1964 it was rediscovered and salvaged. Now the USS Cairo is one of the premier exhibits at the Vicksburg National Military Park. This historic vessel, its entire cargo of weapons and personal effects, and its role in the war continue to spark the imagination of Civil War buffs and thousands of tourists. Here, for the first time, in a carefully documented study is the entire story of the Confederate Secret Service team that sank the USS Cairo. With family oral histories never before consulted and with newly examined documents from the National Archives, The Sinking of the USS Cairo disproves some previous theories and corrects factual errors found in earlier reports. It shows conclusively that the Cairo was not sunk by “an electrically detonated mine” but by a different method. Also, it identifies the members of the Confederate crew, whose names supposedly were “lost to history.” For the first time in a book about this river war, there are illustrations of all five gunboats that were engaged in this action. Told from the Confederate perspective for the first time, this refocused story of the Cairo is a significant addition to the history of the Confederate Secret Service, to the history of the operations around Vicksburg, and to the history of the war on the western frontier.

The USS Cairo
The USS Cairo

Author: Elizabeth Hoxie Joyner

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2006-05-16

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 0786422572

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On December 12, 1862, while patrolling Mississippi's Yazoo River, the ironclad USS Cairo struck a Confederate torpedo. Twelve minutes later, the gunboat slipped beneath the surface approximately eight miles north of Vicksburg, where it remained for exactly 102 years. When researchers raised it in 1964, they were amazed to find many of its compartments and artifacts perfectly intact, almost as if the sailors had intended that their ship serve as a time capsule. Today, the Cairo is a snapshot of life aboard a Union gunboat, and affords a well-preserved glimpse into the past. This is the first book dedicated entirely to the Cairo artifact collection. In over 160 photographs, it displays many of the warship's most interesting historical pieces, with descriptions, measurements and other pertinent information for each piece. Artifacts are organized according to use, with categories ranging from tobacco and smoking devices, personal effects and toiletries, and medical equipment to small arms and cannon. The work also offers background information on the Cairo and the everyday life of a sailor and a short description of the Cairo's sinking and raising.